With an impressive performance at last week’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, swimmer Zac Hawes earned the title of Eagle of the Week on Feb. 16th. Hawes won the 200 breaststroke with a school record of 2:01.45 and placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
Hawes sat down to answer a few questions about himself and the meet.
How did you feel going into this year’s conference championships?
I was really excited. We had a really good mid-season meet, and our coaches gave us a really good taper, so I knew that we were going to swim fast at conference. I had been picturing this meet since the conference last year.
What event were you looking to make a statement in?
200 breaststroke.
What’s the atmosphere like there?
You feel the energy in the air, especially when you are swimming at finals. It gets really loud with everyone cheering. I think our team did the best cheering for our swimmers at finals, and that was really cool to be a part of.
You had stellar swims. What do you set your mind on heading into your senior year?
I want to put myself in a position to qualify and potentially win nationals in the 100 or 200 breaststroke.
How do you keep yourself ready for a race at draining meets like conference?
I sleep a lot. I try not to focus too much on the race in between prelims and finals in order to give my mind and body a break for a few hours. I try to keep a positive attitude about all of my swims because it takes more energy to be negative and upset if you don’t meet your standards.
What is your favorite pre-race stretch?
Probably arm circles to get my shoulders ready to go or butterfly stretch to make sure that my legs won’t tighten up in the middle of the race.
What is your favorite post-meet food?
Bluebell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
How do you feel about the swim team heading into your senior year
I think that we are going to have a great year. We had a lot of people step up this year and we have several people who are going to be able to compete that weren’t able to this year. We are looking to make a big jump in the national rankings and conference rankings.
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